One team in Glasgow Partick Thistle

QUEEN OF THE SOUTH 2 PARTICK THISTLE 0

Match report-Sunday 17th AUGUST 2008
by Partick the Dog (with assistance from Wee Honk)

Thistle’s hopes of taking advantage of Queen of the South being exhausted or distracted by UEFA Cup endeavours to move to the top of the First Division table were dashed. Despite what was at times a strong attacking display, two defensive lapses presented the home side with a winning lead which Thistle were unable to claw back.

Jeremy Paxman may be dismissive of the poetry of Robert Burns, regarding it as sentimental doggerel, but Burns’ home town of Dumfries has always been a favourite destination for Partick Thistle supporters. Palmerston regularly tops the polls as being the away ground the fans enjoy visiting most, partly due to the general atmosphere of friendly rivalry (some Thistle followers may hate Airdrie, but no one really hates Queen of the South), and partly due to warm memories of some great victories secured there. There was a healthy crowd of 3273, the official attendance of 3272, plus one chap perched precariously at a half open attic window in one of the houses to the south of the ground.

Sunday was an appropriate day to visit the only Scottish football team mentioned in the Bible and indeed the prophecy of Luke 11 verse 31 that “the Queen of the South will rise” does seem to have been at least partially fulfilled, their new status as Scottish ambassadors in Europe being proudly proclaimed by the “Doonhamers Travel Club” advertisement on the north end terracing. Promotion to the SPL may perhaps be a step too far. Ian McCall, born and brought up in Dumfries, a Queens supporter and former manager, may have had greater cause to reflect on Luke 4 verse 24, “No prophet is accepted in his home town”, or even John 1 verse 11, “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him”.

McCall’s time may have been more fruitfully engaged in study of the good book, as his usually trusty sheaf of notes let him down. Rather than stick to the tried and tested 3-5-2 formula which has brought success in the opening league games, the Thistle manager tried to lever new loan signing Stephen Lennon into the starting line-up by switching to what this commentator thought was a 4-4-2, but which others have described as 4-3-3 or even 4-5-1. Basically it was Simons to the right, with Simon Storey right fullback in place of Paul Paton, and Simon Donnelly right midfield.
Lennon partnered Damon Gray up front. Donnelly was slightly ahead of the rest of the midfield and Lennon was slightly behind Gray, thus leading to different possible interpretations of the formation. After recent scoring exploits, Stephen “Dosser” McKeown was preferred to Scott Chaplain in midfield, though in a more left leaning position.

Whatever the figures, neither Paxman nor Burns could have described the end result as poetry in motion. The Jags were not well versed in their new roles. Simon Storey prefers to be Ayres Rock in the centre of defence rather than being abandoned in the outback of the wider areas, where Skippy the Bush Kangaroo becomes a wee timorous beastie. A huge chasm opened up on Thistle’s right flank which Gary Arbuckle and other Queens attackers exploited to the full.

Queens came close three times in the first five minutes. Jonny Tuffey punched rather unconvincingly at one of many free kicks conceded on the right, but Sean O’Connor’s reaction header went just over. A surprisingly handsome shot from Stevie Tosh also just cleared the bar. Then Arbuckle and Stephen Dobbie once more ganged up on Storey down the right. The latter’s cross was perfectly weighted for the unmarked O’Connor. It seemed inevitable that his header would end up in the back of the net, but somehow it flew wide.

After looking like being blown away by the flood tide from the bursting banks of the River Nith, Thistle slowly established a foothold in the game. Donnelly came more into the picture, Thistle began to retain possession better, the hole on the right was stopped up and gradually the momentum began to swing Thistle’s way. Harkins went on a mazy run in two separate instalments with a pause for breath in between, but, having driven deep into the penalty box, lost his balance before being able to deliver a telling final cross or shot.

Lennon looked ready and eager and was making some good runs. However, he was often unable to gather the ball cleanly and his new team mates were not always on his wavelength. There was perhaps a strong case for leaving him on the bench initially to watch the team in action, so that when eventually he came on, he would have been able to link up more effectively. Having said that he still managed to get several shots in, though usually with too much elevation. After one of his volleys had been pushed out for a corner, Marc Twaddle got his head on Donnelly’s well-delivered cross, but the ball hit a forest of defenders’ legs.

Thistle came closest to scoring in the 16th minute. Damon Gray’s header was beaten out by Queens’ goalie Callum Bell. Harkins took the ball round the keeper and when the ball came back, Dosser applied a toe poke. Although not firmly struck the ball contrived to elude the massed ranks of the Queens defence, but trundled on to the post and from there to safety. It was now all Thistle. Various free kicks and flowing attractive moves produced opportunities, particularly for Harkins and Lennon, but none of the chances were taken.

After quarter of an hour of being virtual bystanders, Queen of the South suddenly took an undeserved lead from nowhere in the 25th minute. While earlier it was the Thistle right which was fragile, problems now materialised on the left. The ball fell between Twaddle and Tuffey. Queens attacker Paul Burns was in attendance, but not threatening strongly. Twaddle reached out an arm to hold Burns back. This was spotted by the referee and the penalty award was probably technically correct, though I have seen far worse offences go unpunished. Tosh despatched the spot kick efficiently to Tuffey’s right.

Thistle were initially undeterred by this reverse and continued to attack, with Lennon twice coming close. Unfortunately the normally reliable Jags captain Ian Maxwell then became “the great chieftain of the pudding race”. His back was to goal on the left hand side of the box. He had the ball well under control. A passback was a possibility. If he was uncertain as to whether he could deliver this, then some unBurnslike Partick the Doggerel should have come to mind.

“When in doubt
Hoof it out”

Anywhere from Row A to Z would have done. Instead he tried to turn, lost his balance, and presented the ball to Stephen Dobbie who took one touch and drilled his shot low past Tuffey.

Despite being the son of a rower, David Rowson could not draw inspiration from the medalwinning achievements of the UK’s Olympic oarsmen. Injury necessitated his withdrawal and Scott Chaplain came on to lend his enthusiasm to the cause. Suddenly Gray was through one on one with Cameron Bell. It was an opportunity Damon would normally expect to put away, but Bell made an excellent save. Maxwell’s downward header from the resulting corner was again well saved.

Paul Paton sneaked out at halftime to grab his shirt from the dugout, so we knew that another substitution was in the offing and that Thistle would be going 3-5-2, as some would argue we should have started. It was perhaps a little surprising that Damon Gray was the player to give way. With Storey back in central defence, the Jags’ communication system was once again as impressive as the telecom mast on the hill behind Palmerston’s main stand.

Thistle launched into the second half with all the vibrancy of Chris Hoy sprinting off the front of the keirin. Wave after wave of attacks were launched towards the Queens’ goal. In the 46th minute Twaddle pushed the ball through to Lennon who was clear on the righthand side of the box but could not keep his shot down.

The next 20 minutes are something of a blur. For some unaccountable reason two members of the police force decided to curtail the enthusiasm of the pair of Jags’ fans immediately behind your reporting duo. Apart from some wallbanging and the odd irrelevant song about Airdrie, there was nothing to which anyone could have taken exception, and they were helping to generate some atmosphere and to revive the spirits of the slightly deflated away support. Their novel method of responding to police interrogation was to sing even louder. Other fans joined in to swell the chorus and the result was a wall of sound which would have impressed even Phil Spector. The players responded to this unexpectedly strong vocal support by redoubling their efforts and so the action on and off the pitch fed off each other. If a goal had come in this crazy period, the floodgates would have opened, and Thistle would at least have secured the 2-2 draw needed to overtake league leaders Dundee.

The police withdrew in disarray, but the Queens defence held firm. With the noise still reverberating in my ears, it is difficult to separate out the numerous chances that fell Thistle’s way. Stephen Lennon headed into the danger area and Stephen McKeown shot from a similar position from which he had scored against Dunfermline. The luck was not going Thistle’s way. Deflections and dogged defending kept the goal intact and the ball never ran kindly for the lurking attackers.

Finally the ball did fall for Simon Donnelly ten yards out. He struck his volley sweetly and we all looked for the bulging net. Tragically for Thistle, Callum Bell earned his man of the match award by somehow getting his body in the way and beating the ball out. Celebratory leaps in the air were stifled. That was the moment we all knew that this was not to be our day and the ball was never going to go in. This was simply confirmed as a combination of John Robertson and Sean O’Connor hit the ball off the Queens’ bar, and Gary Harkins once more broke through but shot too high.

Neither the team nor the fans could maintain this level of intensity indefinitely, and the final 25 minutes of the game were rather pedestrian. It was like watching Paula Radliffe running the last five miles of her marathon. Her courageous effort and total commitment to reaching the finishing line were beyond question, but the result was no longer in doubt.

There was no lack of effort from Thistle, but the game was now more even. Jim Thomson had come on as a substitute to shore up the Queens defence and his header from a Robert Harris freekick slid narrowly wide. Jonny Tuffey was doing well in the role he typically adopts when Thistle are behind, trying everything to drive the team forward, even taking a throw in at one stage. However, one rather careless clearance struck Sean O’Connor and only just cleared the bar.

Mark Roberts made a welcome return from injury, replacing Dosser, but was totally anonymous. Simon Donnelly’s near post drive was comfortably saved by the Bell. Stephen Lennon did get round the keeper, but was driven wide and could not pick out a pass. Lennon was now keeping his shots down, but they lacked the power to trouble a goalie in such fine form. The final significant Thistle effort was a Paul Paton volley which again stuck to the keeper’s gloves.

The players received generous applause from the fans at the end. This was not a defeat to dampen spirits. We were slightly fortunate to win our first two games and slightly unfortunate to lose this one. Suck it up and move on!

If the Alex Totten method of allocating points by “totten” up the number of corners won by each team had been introduced, Thistle would now be clear at the top of the league. For Queens it was not the greatest of performances, but, in the words of the Bard, “A win’s a win for a’ that”.

Teams:-

Thistle (ratings): Tuffey 6, Storey 6, Twaddle 7, Donnelly 7, Robertson 7, Maxwell 5, McKeown 6 (Roberts 5), Rowson 6 (Chaplain 6), Gray 6 (Paton 6), Lennon 7, Harkins 7

Unused Subs: Hinchcliffe, Kinniburgh

Queen of the South: Bell, Reid (Thomson), Harris, MacFarlane, Barr, Adams, Arbuckle (McQuilken), Tosh, O’Connor, Dobbie (Kean), Burns

Unused Subs: Trialist, Robertson

Referee- Steven Nicholls
Assistants- Steven Craven, Don Robertson

Goals:
Queen of the South: Tosh (24), Dobbie (34)

Attendance- 3272